Current Site Status

The Camp Lejeune Military Res. (USNavy) site includes an active U.S. Navy (Navy) base. The base opened in 1942. The EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989 because of contaminated ground water, sediment, soil and surface water resulting from base operations and waste handling practices. The EPA, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR), and the Navy have investigated site conditions and taken steps to clean it up to protect people and the environment from contamination. Site contamination does not currently threaten people living and working near the site. By conducting site investigations, cleanup activities and required Five-Year Reviews, and placing institutional controls on the site property, the EPA, NCDENR and the Navy continue to protect people and the environment from site contamination.

Site Location and Background

The 236 square-mile site is located in a rural area of Onslow County, just south of Jacksonville, North Carolina. The site includes the active Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Lejeune. The base includes six areas: Camp Geiger, Montford Point, Courthouse Bay, Mainside, the Greater Sandy Run Area and the Rifle Range Area. MCB Camp Lejeune was commissioned in 1942 as a training area to prepare Marines for combat.

The New River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean, bisects the site and is used for fishing and recreation. State Route 24 borders the site to the north. The Atlantic Ocean borders the site to the south and east. U.S. Route 17 borders the site to the west. In 1989, the EPA placed the site on the NPL. Base operations at the site currently include industrial, recreational, commercial and residential land uses.

Investigation and Cleanup Responsibility / Oversight

Site Cleanup Plan

Investigations and cleanup activities have focused on 25 areas, which the EPA refers to as operable units, or OUs. These OUs cover large portions of the site and contain one or more areas of contamination.

Department of Defense (DoD) established the Military Munitions response Program (MMRP), which was shortened to Munitions Response Program (MRP) by the Navy, under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) in September 2001. The purpose is to address military munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) (unexploded ordnance [UXO] and waste military munitions) and munitions constituents (MCs) (Chemical residues of munitions) at locations that are not operational ranges.

Since 1992, the Navy and the EPA have issued 26 cleanup plans (Records of Decision, or RODs) for the OUs at the site.

Most recently, the Navy and the EPA issued a ROD for Site 49of OU23 in April 2014. The plan included:

Cleanup Progress

The Navy has completed several cleanup activities at the site. Other site investigations and cleanup activities are ongoing.

From 1994 to 2000, the Navy removed and disposed of contaminated soils, drums, aboveground storage tanks, underground storage tanks, batteries, waste liquids and dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) from areas across the site. At several of these areas, the Navy conducted additional activities to address associated ground water contamination. For example, in 2006, the Navy completed a ground water study to evaluate the effectiveness of the cleanup approach for “hot spot” contaminated areas near the highway bypass.

In 1996, the Navy treated VOC-contaminated soil using a soil vapor extraction system. The Navy also put in a ground water treatment plant and a bio-treatment cell for contaminated soil.

In 2001, the Navy completed a time-critical removal action using low-level heat to pull contamination from soil. Then, in 2003 and 2004, the Navy began a pilot-scale treatability study using electrical resistance heating to treat areas containing DNAPL.

The cleanup for several areas has included institutional controls and ground water monitoring. At OU7 (Sites 1, 28 and 30) and OU4 (Sites 41 and 74), the Navy conducted ground water monitoring until concentrations of contaminants were below site cleanup goals. The Navy completed cleanup activities at these OUs in 2002 and 2006, respectively.

In 2003 and 2006, the Navy conducted additional removals of contaminated soil.

In 2007 and 2008, the Navy did a cleanup at OU16 (Site 93). It included institutional controls, ground water monitoring and use of chemicals called oxidants to break down contaminants.

The Navy has placed institutional controls on portions of the site to prohibit intrusive activities, ground water use and non-industrial land uses in these areas.

In 2010 to 2014 the following actions have been completed or are underway:

Three Non Time Critical Removal Actions have been completed for Site 6 (OU2), UXO-01 and UXO-23 which removed 43 yd3 of chlorobenzene contaminated soils and drums, 970 tons of soils containing arsenic, antimony and lead and 52,000 tons of soils containing lead and PAH, respectively.

Remedial Systems have been installed at Sites 35, 73 and 89 which consist of air sparging using horizontal wells, enhanced reductive dechlorination injection wells, permeable reactive barriers and surface water aerators, respectively.

The remedial system installation for Site 69, a multilayer cap with an impermeable layer meeting relevant RCRA Subtitle C landfill cover requirements is underway and is expected to be completed by Fall of 2014.

Enforcement Activities

In 1991, the EPA, North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources (now NCDENR) and the Navy signed a Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA) for the site. The FFA helps make sure that the parties will fully investigate environmental impacts associated with past and present activities and undertake and complete appropriate cleanup actions. The FFA also establishes schedules and enforceable milestones for cleanup activities.

Community Involvement

The Navy, the EPA and the state have worked with the community to develop a long-term cleanup plan for the site, reflecting the Agency’s commitment to safe, healthy communities and environmental protection. Community engagement and public outreach are core components of EPA program activities.

The Navy and the EPA have conducted a range of community involvement activities to ask for community input and to make sure the public remains informed about site activities throughout the cleanup process. Outreach efforts have included public notices and meetings.

Future Work

Additional investigations are ongoing at several areas on site. Their focus is VOC and metal contamination in ground water and the potential for vapor intrusion into on-site buildings. The Navy continues to conduct long-term maintenance activities. It also maintains institutional controls and operates ground water treatment systems.

The Navy will conduct pilot studies to evaluate alternative remedies for some sites which could potentially shorten the time to achieve the remedial goals in 2015.

Site Repository

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